42-year-old Kenyan appointed to U.S State Cabinet

A Kenyan national has made history after being appointed the new commissioner of Commerce and Insurance in the State of Tennessee.

42-year old Hodgen Mainda, according to a press statement sent to newsrooms on Monday, first moved to the U.S in 1997 as a rugby player.

He now becomes the first Kenyan to hold such a position in the State of Tennessee after working in government relations and business development roles in Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, while making the announcement last week, said: ‘’Hodgen joins my cabinet after an outstanding career as a community leader in Chattanooga.”

“He is respected for his ability to build partnerships across multiple sectors and we welcome his leadership to such a multifaceted department like Commerce and Insurance.”

Hodgen’s father Dr. Steve Mainda serves as Board Chairman HF Group and Continental Reinsurance besides being a board member of Shelter Afrique.

He is expected to take up his new role in October.

“In addition to his work with the Electric Power Board of Chattanooga (EPB) where he built partnerships across the state and federal level and increased EPB’s role in regional economic development, Mainda serves on the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Chattanooga Rotary Club, the United Way of Greater Chattanooga, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Chancellor’s Roundtable and the College of Business Advisory Board,” read the statement.

“He is also a member of the Leadership Tennessee Class of 2019 and a 2018 graduate of the Harvard Business School Young American Leaders Program.”